Tree House
by YoungWriter2005
Summary: It had been our secret little world. It had been the setting for so many firsts. It had been the only place that made us feel comfortable and right at home, even if it was old. Or maybe that's why. A story of undying love and spontaneous romance. Oneshot.


**HANNAH MONTANA: Tree House**

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own _Hannah Montana. _I just...don't. But I do own a really cute pair of jeans!

We were sitting in the car, not saying anything. We didn't need to. We understood each other just by looking into one another's eyes.

I glanced up at the old tree house. It had been our secret little world. It had been the setting for so many firsts. It had been the only place that made us feel comfortable and right at home, even if it was old. Or, maybe that's why. It gave us the comfort we need because it's kind of grown into us in its own way.

"I want to go inside up there," she said, her voice hoarse and raspy.

"Are you sure? We might have an accident. It's going to break easily." I hoped that she'd noticed my tone of genuine concern.

"No, I'm sure," she told me.

I nodded and didn't say anything.

We got out of the car, with me telling her to be careful, asking if she was okay, and entered through the gate of my old home back in Malibu. We'd been living in separate houses at New York. That way, we'd get to work easily.

"Just follow me," I instructed.

She nodded and closed her eyes, breathing in the cold night air.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

She opened her eyes slowly, blinked twice, and gave a shaky smile. "Yes, I think so," she replied, and motioned for me to start climbing up. I got to the top, careful so we wouldn't fall.

I watched her there, struggling to go from one level to the next.

As I helped her climb up the wooden ladder, I noticed her hands trembling weakly. Then we entered through the fragile door, making creaking noises, and I still can't help but think that this may be the last moment that we would share.

I still remember it, the day she told me about her disease.

"It's leukemia," she had said.

"Leukemia?" I asked, beginning to feel anxious and worried. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sick," she revealed, tears rolling down her delicate face. "I have leukemia. I found out this morning."

"Since when?" I refused to believe her for the first time, but then I realized that she really was serious.

"A few months ago," she replied.

I hugged her tight, and we spent the whole night sleeping by each other's side. But of course, we were the best of friends. There was no romance whatsoever there. But I wish there was. I had been secretly in love with her for so long, I couldn't count the times I've been thinking about her.

We stood there for a moment. I looked at her. She had her eyes closed again, what's left of her hair swaying in the strong wind. Then she forced a smile, despite what she might have been feeling.

"I feel great already," she said, her voice still rough. "Not healed, yes, but I feel comforted, just like old times."

"Yeah," I agreed half-heartedly, drowning in all these forlorn thoughts. "Just like...just like old times."

Old times. Those were the days when she was still very much alive and in the pink of health. Why did she even get that kind of sickness? It would have been better if I was the diseased one. Then I'd make sure that we'd still be together somehow.

She sat down on the bench we'd picked out together years before. We picked out a bench because we both felt very adventurous, like we were outdoors or at our favorite park, or something like that, whenever we sit on it. It's just something, out of the many things, that we agree on.

"Come on," she prodded, and I sat down beside her.

I cleared my throat and swallowed. "I'm sorry," I said, in a voice with such low volume that I thought she didn't hear me.

"Huh?" She was confused, because for her, I hadn't done anything wrong.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that," I began, "I've been so busy worrying about you and your illness that I've forgotten to tell you just how much I loved you. I didn't even tell you that I liked you as more than a friend. And a very concerned one, at that." I smiled as she managed to let out a short laugh.

When she stopped laughing, she leaned on my shoulder and took my hand. I didn't expect it to happen, but it did, anyway. "You do?"

With that, I let the thoughts of her disease escape from my mind, and it was as if we had gone twelve years into the past, two fourteen-year-olds joking around. "Yes. I have, for so long."

She smiled. "Me, too," she whispered, her breath tickling my ears.

I backed away, hearing the faint sound of drops of water falling to the ground. I looked out the small window of the house. Of course. It had started to rain. "Wait, what?"

"I said I like you, too," she said. She closed her eyes again, tighter this time, and I think it was from a sickening feeling she's got.

I kissed her forehead. "I'm...afraid." I looked into her eyes as I said this, but just as soon as the words left my mouth, I turned away.

She turned my head gently so I was facing her again. "Afraid?" she asked. "Afraid of what?"

"Of this!" I said, not meaning to yell. She inched away, tears forming around her eyes. "Of you. Of me. Of us. Of what's going to happen..."

"Shh..." She put her finger to my lips. I smiled a little and wiped her tears with one hand, using the other to wipe my own. She looked down. "I'm a little scared myself. But I've learned to stay strong and focused on my life's goals before I..."

"Don't say that," I told her, cutting her off. She was about to say it. The dreaded three-letter word I never want to hear from her again. "Never say die, remember?"

"Yes, I know," she said. "But sooner or later, we have to face the truth and quit pretending like we don't know what's going to happen. I just want to enjoy my last moments."

I was about to reply, but she started coughing uncontrollably. Seconds later, she looked at her hand. It had a small spot of blood. She wiped it with a napkin and started crying again.

I called her by her favorite petname, but it was no use. She turned away from me. "Get away from me, Oliver. Just...just go."

I held on to her arms and pulled her close, giving her a hug. She sobbed loudly. "I just can't take it anymore," she complained, but I knew she meant it as a statement. She struggled with the worst, yet she still didn't give up. Her determination is one of the many things I admired in her.

"I love you, Oliver, I hope you know that," she told me, looking up into my eyes. "I can't believe I'm telling you all this just now."

I smiled. "I love you more than life itself."

She closed her eyes, then again. And this time, she wasn't feeling anything. She just wanted something. And I knew that I was the only one who could give it to her.

I leaned over and gave her a kiss.

The kiss lasted long, and its feeling never left me. When we pulled away, she smiled, and snuggled up closer to me.

"I love you," I heard her repeat. Somehow, her voice faded a little. Or maybe I just imagined it. Did I...?

I smiled and laughed a little. "I wonder how many times I'll hear that, considering what we're dealing with now." I wished that it came out as a joke, which is what it really is. But it came out really serious. Depressing, even.

There was no reply.

Realizing the situation, I looked at her pale face. Her eyes were closed. My mind flashed back to the times she closed her eyes tonight. The first two, because she was feeling cheerful and calm. The third was because she felt sick. Tears began forming in my eyes as I thought about that. The fourth, she wanted me to kiss her. And the last...well, that's exactly what it is. The absolute last.

I couldn't stop the tears from falling. She was gone. My best friend, the love of my life, the one who gave me everything I need, whenever I need it, she had gone someplace else. Somewhere I couldn't go to so I could follow her. I couldn't believe it; it was all just so surreal.

She was smiling, a smile I know could never be erased.

I closed my eyes, too, not planning to open them soon. I murmured her name softly, but I know that, wherever she may be, she'll hear it.

"Lilly..."

(**A/N: **Aww, my first tearjerker! This one totally made me cry... It just came to me one day in class. I have some other oneshots in the works. One is way romantic, another super-funny and the last is just totally random. So, what do you think? Should I stick with tearjerkers? Tell me with another set of those awesome reviews!)


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